State lawmaker: Mitt Romney ‘a nice man, but I’m afraid of his Mormon faith’

Today’s Marietta Daily Journal carries evidence that the GOP will yet have a debate over presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney’s faith, quoting state Rep. Judy Manning of Cobb County, a Newt Gingrich supporter:

“I think Mitt Romney is a nice man, but I’m afraid of his Mormon faith,” Manning said. “It’s better than a Muslim. Of course, every time you look at the TV these days you find an ad on there telling us how normal they are. So why do they have to put ads on the TV just to convince us that they’re normal if they are normal? … If the Mormon faith adhered to a past philosophy of pluralism, multi-wives, that doesn’t follow the Christian faith of one man and one woman, and that concerns me.”

- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider

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320 comments Add your comment

Old timer

January 4th, 2012
3:45 pm

People use to fear Catholics….until they got to know one……

Look before I leap...

January 4th, 2012
3:45 pm

Rob

January 4th, 2012
3:36 pm
All of you are dumb hippie liberals. She can say whatever she wants. If all of you are so tolerant to other religions and views, why not be tolerant to intolerant people?

Of course she can say what she wants. Her speech is as protected as mine and yours. Freedom of speech however, does not grant immunity from a response from those who may disagree.
She is a public official, she made a statement to the media, the media reported it and the public responded. That is the way the system is supposed to work.
That Ms Manning is a crochety, un-enlightened, bigoted, ole cow is totally beside the point.

Trixie

January 4th, 2012
3:45 pm

Mitt Romney is a practicing Mormon… Judy Manning is a practicing MORON!

Spaghetti Monster

January 4th, 2012
3:46 pm

It is the business of everyone to condemn stupidity, bigotry, and cruelty. If you ignore it one day you wake up in North Korea.

td

January 4th, 2012
3:47 pm

BenB

January 4th, 2012
3:44 pm

First you need to really go and do some research about what Newt received the fine. Second, it is your opinion that religion has no place in politics. Thank God the vast majority of the people disagree with your opinion.

td

January 4th, 2012
3:49 pm

Look before I leap…

January 4th, 2012
3:45 pm

Unless you live in her district then your opinion as well as mine does not count for squat.

bart

January 4th, 2012
3:50 pm

This is one reason why Christianity gets a bad name…,bigotry, intolerance, and being judgemental.

honest_abe

January 4th, 2012
3:50 pm

td: “First you need to really go and do some research about what Newt received the fine. Second, it is your opinion that religion has no place in politics. Thank God the vast majority of the people disagree with your opinion.”

please expound on that. vast majority? you and your immediate family + evangelicals hardly consititue a majority? a majority of simpletons, maybe.

td

January 4th, 2012
3:51 pm

bart

January 4th, 2012
3:50 pm
This is one reason why Christianity gets a bad name…,bigotry, intolerance, and being judgemental.

Sort of the same as Secular Humanism? How about political correctness. Does not your definition fit/

Spaghetti Monster

January 4th, 2012
3:52 pm

td

Religion has been the cause of more human suffering than just about any force in history. It is just another form of tribalism, an unfortunate evolutionary trait of our species.

Imagine if people judged others by the content of their character rather than the sign outside their church.

Cheryl

January 4th, 2012
3:53 pm

Freedom of speech? Is there such a thing any longer?
I do not agree with Ms. Manning but she does have the freedom to speak, painful as it might to be hear what she says.
Most of these people posting do not appear to comprehend this freedom–it’s very difficult to do but so very important that it be allowed.

BillS

January 4th, 2012
3:54 pm

Sadly, she probably speaks for a lot of people. And of course she’s welcome to her views, no matter how poorly they reflect on her.

Q

January 4th, 2012
3:54 pm

@td: someone on one of these blogs said ‘UGA is a private institution’…..was that you???

have you ever heard of separation of Church and State? I find it funny how so many people pick and choose what they want from the Constitution.

td

January 4th, 2012
3:54 pm

honest_abe

January 4th, 2012
3:50 pm

How about 83% of Americans that identify themselves as Christians?

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/beliefnet_poll_010718.html

Tellit

January 4th, 2012
3:55 pm

She says what many people think….

honest_abe

January 4th, 2012
3:57 pm

cheryl: as an elected public official it’s wrong to say call out certain religions or ethnic groups as being unequal. it’s not freedom of speech, it’s called stupidity something i’m afraid you are too familiar with.

Tom

January 4th, 2012
3:58 pm

Don’t hold this against her constituency…..thumpers are usually out of touch (deliberately) with the ones who put them into office.

Case in point….notoroius Talibaptist and former state senator Judson Hill from Sandy Springs fought tooth and nail against Sunday alcohol sales….yet when it was put on the ballot in Sandy Springs it got passed by over 85%. 85%!

td

January 4th, 2012
3:58 pm

Q

January 4th, 2012
3:54 pm

Separation of Church and state means the government can not establish a religion not that people can not bring their religious beliefs into politics.

MB

January 4th, 2012
3:58 pm

My issues regarding Romney are not based on his Mormon beliefs. I personally view him as a liberal RINO and someone who is not electable.

My issue with Mormons are simply that they do not believe in the same Jesus that is taught in the Bible and that without accepting the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God, they will one day, die a very real death and spend eternity in Hell. That to me is very sad.

For everyone on this board who is bashing Christianity because they know someone who has fallen into a pattern of sin. Those individuals do not make the teaching of Christianity false or invalid. Our standard is Jesus Christ who knew no sin and took on the sins of the world so that we could have a means for salvation

honest_abe

January 4th, 2012
3:58 pm

td: wow! somehow you make a logical connection with people being christian and that entire 83% wanting religion in politics? you really do need a clue.

Spaghetti Monster

January 4th, 2012
3:58 pm

Cheryl,

Since she said it, she must have been free to say it.
Also since she said it, I must be free to condemn it as shallow and unenlightened.
And you must be free to condemn me for condemning her, since you did.
And I am free to point out that you don’t understand what freedom of speech is.
You’re up.

Look before I leap...

January 4th, 2012
3:58 pm

Spaghetti Monster

January 4th, 2012
3:52 pm

Imagine if people judged others by the content of their character rather than the sign outside their church.

Eddie Long, Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggert, Jim Bakker anyone?
“nuff said

honest_abe

January 4th, 2012
3:59 pm

“illogical”

John Sulivan

January 4th, 2012
3:59 pm

That’s why she stopped watching Donnie and Marie.

Sagan

January 4th, 2012
4:01 pm

Spag Monster @3:52
Will you marry me??? It is rare to find someone with such level headed views! After reading thru pages of narrow minded “religious” banter, it was refreshing to see your post!

td

January 4th, 2012
4:03 pm

honest_abe

January 4th, 2012
3:58 pm

If ones religious belief is so irrelevant as you claim then please explain to me how every single Presidential candidate in the last 40 years (including Obama) has come out in public and professed their faith in Jesus Christ and said he was their personal Lord and savior? Can you explain that one or is it something you just ignore prescribing to the Secular humanist religion?

Spaghetti Monster

January 4th, 2012
4:03 pm

Sagan,

Thanks but maybe we should date first ;-)

LOL@GOP

January 4th, 2012
4:05 pm

Hicks are going to be hicks. Perhaps some day the GOP will get smart and stop catering to this toothless nutjobs.

Rickster

January 4th, 2012
4:06 pm

@ Jim Galloway: Jim, don’t you have some sort of legitimate political news story to cover?

Spaghetti Monster

January 4th, 2012
4:10 pm

td

Politicians claim to be religious because they are pandering for the votes of those who are afraid of people different from themselves, a large percentage of the US population. I sincerely hope it is not a majority but sometimes I do despair that it is.

Brian

January 4th, 2012
4:11 pm

MB @ 3:58, who taught you about Mormonism, because whoever did… lied.

This sums it up

January 4th, 2012
4:11 pm

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

Brennan Manning

He will rise again ( choral music)!!

January 4th, 2012
4:14 pm

Vivianmorgan, you mean obama IS NOT a Muslim? That guy has spent less time in a real church than ANY president in US history. I guess he cant find one in Washington that SPEWS hate like the IRREVERANT REVERAND WRIGHTS tabernakle did. Lets get that clown out off ofice so he can move back to indonesia with meschell and da girls (and take your dog with ya).

Tom

January 4th, 2012
4:20 pm

And here I thought the primary cause of atheism was the develepment of the the human brain and, ergo, our ability to reason. The creation of ALL mythologies (including every religion) has always been instigated by the human species looking for explanations of those things not understood and feared…..mainly death.

Spaghetti Monster

January 4th, 2012
4:21 pm

A question for those of you who won’t vote for a ________ (insert religion of your choice).

We have had many leaders who claim they are Christians but have turned out to be terrible people or terrible presidents.

Richard Nixon claimed publicly to be a Christian but turned out to be a lying sack of crap.
Jimmy Carter is a born again Christian but was a terrible president.
Andrew Jackson broke his word and expelled thousands of Cherokees from their land.
And how many of you really think that Obama, a follower of Rev. Wright, really believes the same thing you do?

So with that said, why would you use professed belief in a particular brand of religion to decide who to vote for?

MB

January 4th, 2012
4:21 pm

@Brian 4:11

I took a class in Pseudo Christian Cults in college and studied the false teaching of Mormonism, and various other false religions.

Zinger

January 4th, 2012
4:22 pm

Mormons believe that the men (not the women) are gods in the making. This is a fact concerning their beliefs. One president who thinks he’s God is enough in one lifetime.

Tom

January 4th, 2012
4:23 pm

Hey, MB, where is the line of demarcation between “false” religions and the rest? (iyo, of course)

Alice

January 4th, 2012
4:23 pm

“Mormonism is not Christianity. Sorry, but it isn’t. Anyone who says it is speaks out of ignorance.
As far as Romney, if he’s the eventual candidate, I’d be glad to vote for him” Ditto

However, the Christian faith was born out of Judaism, many in the OT had multiple wives. I don’t hold it against Romney that his faith USED to condone multiple wives.

ed

January 4th, 2012
4:24 pm

Christianity is made up of those who follow the teachings of Christ. Get it? Jews do not follow Christ. Hindus do not follow Christ. Buddhist do not follow Christ. There are millions of people on Planet Earth who believe in God. In the final analysis it should matter not to any fair minded person what belief system is adopted as long as people believe in honesty, compassion toward their fellow man, and are law abiding.

Spaghetti Monster

January 4th, 2012
4:28 pm

MB

I am sorry but you did not attend college which is a place for the obtainment of knowledge.
You attended an indoctrination camp.

Zinger

January 4th, 2012
4:28 pm

You’re right ed, Christians are those who accept Christ as Lord and follow the teachings of Christ. Christians are not whose who follow the teachings of that fraud and convict Joseph Smith who has managed to deceive thousands.

Rastus Brown

January 4th, 2012
4:29 pm

Wher did this Stone Age religious expert come from. Maybe she prefers Obama and his Baptist preacher from Chicago.

[...] “conservative revolt” against a Romney-led ticket, beyond a smattering of evangelicals who really don’t like Mormons. The best way to describe the wingnut mood about this contest is that a Romney nomination would [...]

Zinger

January 4th, 2012
4:35 pm

Rastus, unless you understand the dynamics and theological underpinnings of liberation theology, which are found primarily in OT prophets and teachings of Jesus concerning the meek and lowly, the poor in spirit and those who mourn now, then perhaps you’d better off to refain from making religious comparisons. In fact, liberation theology is much closer to traditional Christianity than Mormon religion which is based on lies, deception, and a comical version of their own bible.

quake

January 4th, 2012
4:38 pm

So with all this going back and forth about who is or isn’t Christian, one question comes to mind. What would Jesus think of all of this? What would HE say to everyone trying their best to define him, and themselves, and about the hate and intolerance that is all over this board? Doesn’t seem very Christ-like to me.

Zinger

January 4th, 2012
4:41 pm

Perhaps not,quake, but I suspect the image of Jesus using a scourge to cast the money changers and theives out of the Temple doesn’t look much like to Christianity to you either. There is a time to take a stand and draw a line in the sand, and that time is now. No Mormon in the Whitehouse please. It is a sexist religion that distorts the truth and trades on lies. We’ve had enough of that haven’t we?

The Deuce

January 4th, 2012
4:45 pm

That is one of the most idiotic and assinine things I’ve ever read coming coming directly from the mouth of an adult. Are you kidding me? Ladies and gentlemen, your elected officials! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? 2012, I should’ve never doubted you. I know I said I’ve seen everything and people’s idiocy cannot possibly get lower but, there you are, immediately showing me what this world has yet to offer. Manning will now be a word in my vernacular to mean that I’ve just gotten dumber because of something someone said.

Zinger

January 4th, 2012
4:47 pm

The Deuce, I’m not sure you could get any dummber regardless of what anyone said. You’ve done that all by yourself if you can’t see the stupidity in the Mormon religion and folly of electing anyone dumb enough to believe it.

BBJ

January 4th, 2012
4:48 pm

If considering one’s race is better than another is defined as “Racist” Could we consider Ms. Manning a “RELIGIONIST”?